Motor vehicles such as automobiles typically include a window lift assembly or “window regulator” for raising and lowering windows in doors or other body panels. These window regulators can be manual or powered. Such window regulators are also used for opening and closing other types of closure members in motor vehicles such as, for example, “sunroofs”, rear windows, and the like. Many powered closure mechanism have been proposed using a rack and pinion gear to move sliding closures in motor vehicles. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,115,632, 2,336,530, 4,119,341, 4,167,834, 4,235,117, 4,389,818, 4,908,988, 4,967,510, 5,537,782, and 5,577,347, the disclosure of which are expressly incorporated herein in their entireties by reference.
While these prior closure mechanisms may adequately open and close closure members in motor vehicles, they all require a relatively large number of parts and are relatively complex to manufacture and assemble. Additionally, there is an ongoing desire for motor vehicle components such as closure mechanisms to be smaller, lighter, and lower cost. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved closure mechanism for opening and closing a closure member of a motor vehicle.